California Legislature passed Bill SB 1019 that requires labeling of upholstered furniture for presence or absence of flame retardants. Bill is awaiting Governor Brown's signature. If signed, the requirements of this bill will become effective January 1, 2015, which is also the effective date for compliance to California Technical Bulletin (TB) 117-2013.

Following are highlights of SB 1019.

Scope – Foam and upholstered furniture within scope of California Technical Bulletin 117 Standard.
Requirements:

• Require label, shown below, for presence or absence of 'added flame retardant chemicals' on the label required by TB 117-2013 for upholstered furniture.
  “The upholstery materials in this product:
  ____contain added flame retardant chemicals
  _____contain NO added flame retardant chemicals
  The absence or presence of added flame retardant chemicals shall be indicated by placing an “X” in one of the appropriate blanks.
• Font and format requirements will be same as that required for TB 117-2013 label (Section 1374.3 of Title 4 of the California Code of Regulations)
• Manufacturer shall retain documentation to show whether flame retardant chemicals were added.
  • A written statement by the supplier of each component covered by TB 117-2013 attesting either that flame retardant chemicals were added or not added shall be sufficient documentation.

Other Provisions:

• Manufacturer shall provide to the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation (BEARHFTI), within 30 days of the request, documentation establishing the accuracy of the flame retardant chemical statement on the label.
• BEARHFTI to provide samples to DTSC from covered products marked “contain NO added flame retardant chemicals” for testing for the presence of added flame retardant chemicals.
• No later than August 1 of each fiscal year, BEARHFTI shall assess available resources and determine the number of tests to be conducted in the corresponding fiscal year.
• BEARHFTI shall make information about any citation issued available to the public on its web site.

Penalty:

• Not less than $2,500 and not more than $15,000 for the failure of the manufacturer of the covered product to maintain the required documentation or to provide the documentation upon request.
• Fine from $1,000 up to $10,000 for mislabeling based on frequency of violation.

Relevant Definitions:

• “Added flame retardant chemicals” means flame retardant chemicals that are present in any covered product or component thereof at levels above 1,000 parts per million.
• “Flame retardant chemical” means any chemical or chemical compound for which a functional use is to resist or inhibit the spread of fire. Flame retardant chemicals include, but are not limited to, halogenated, phosphorous-based, nitrogen-based, and nanoscale flame retardants, flame retardant chemicals listed as “designated chemicals” pursuant to Section 105440 of the Health and Safety Code, and any chemical or chemical compound for which “flame retardant” appears on the substance Safety Data Sheet (SDS) pursuant to Section 1910.1200(g) of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations.